Hey Shawty! It's Your Birthday!

 Well.  It has happened.  Our sweet itty bit is officially ONE YEAR OLD!  Did you hear that?  I have a one year old!  Russ had to work today, but he didn't want to miss out on Millie Janalee's donut breakfast, so he called in to make sure there were no procedures first thing this morning.  The first one was at 8:45, so we had time to enjoy a family birthday morning.  The first of many!  I grabbed the video camera, and Russ and I entered Millie Janalee's room singing "Happy Birthday."  She smiled and giggled and was so excited to have us both come get her up.  And singing!  This is not a typical thing so early in the morning.  Ha!

Russ changed her diaper and everything this morning, and I heard him singing his own birthday song to her.  It went something like this...

 Go shawty, it's your birthday
We gonna party like it's your birthday
We gon' eat a cupcake like it's your birthday
And you know we don't really care, cause it's your birthday

Hopefully, Millie Janalee will never look up the actual lyrics to 50 Cent's "In Da Club" song.  And I don't advise you to either.  We will stick to our cupcake version and be done with it.

Millie Janalee's high chair was set up in the living room by her birthday decorations.  I didn't even get a picture of them!  Oops!  There were balloons and a banner hanging in the living room.  She never goes straight to her high chair for breakfast, so she knew something was up.  When Russ sat the donut on her tray, she was a bit confused.  She poked it, stuck her finger in the hole, and then tossed it on the floor.  Ha!  The sugary goodness on her hands was fun to squish in her hand.  We ended up cutting it up in bitesize pieces (about a third of it) and she devoured it!  She's her Mama's girl for sure!  Nothing like a good donut in the morning!

Once Daddy left for work, the girls played.  We snuggled watching Sprout and PBS.  We played a little.  Millie Janalee even laid completely still for me to give her birthday back scratch.  Have I mentioned that she is her Mama's girl!  Made over!  She may look like her Daddy, but the girl is ALL MAMA!

My mom texted me earlier in the week to see if we were doing anything special for Millie Janalee's birthday.  Her actual party isn't until Saturday.  Russ and I made plans for the donut breakfast and dinner at Cracker Barrel.  I know.  Cracker Barrel?  Ha!  Yes, because we knew there would be veggies she could eat.  And it's her birthday after all.  So, my parents and sister loaded up and headed west for our little birthday celebration.

We enjoyed a yummy dinner at Cracker Barrel and fantastic entertainment by the one and only Millie Janalee.  She really knows how to put on a show!  Let's see...lately she has been described as "something else," "a drama queen," and "too funny."  Spend a little time with the girl, and you are sure to leave with a smile.

(I might be a little biased.)

After dinner, we all came back to our apartment for Millie Janalee to open her gifts.  She was way too young to care about Christmas presents, and that was the last time we were opening gifts.  So, we had to nudge her a bit.  Once she got the hang of it, she was a pro at tearing off the paper!  Of course, every time she tore paper off, she wanted to eat it.  I was on paper eating patrol.  Ha!

"Ooooo!  Pretty paper!"

"I need to meet Mrs. Iris.  I love this gift she sent me!"

"Yay!  A BIG present with bright paper!"

Big presents take a little extra effort. Like standing to unwrap them.

She kept trying to grab the Little People through the plastic packaging.  Ha!

"Susu and Pawpaw, I like this farm!  Thank you!"

Opening books from Farley

Listening to Mama read her card

When we finished opening gifts, Millie Janalee took a little time to play with her toys.  Auntie Kristin put together a DVD of Millie Janalee's first year.  It was such a precious act of love!  As if her hosting the Millie Janalee Birthday Party Extravaganza wasn't enough!  We all sat and watched it through teary eyes while Millie Janalee's toys made the occasional "oink" and "baaaa"...or she climbed over our bodies...or paced back and forth to get our attention.  Ha! 

 

After taking a trip down a sentimental and funny memory lane, it was time for Millie Janalee to make a wish!  We opted for a cupcake at 9:00 at night.  I know.  We're crazy!  Millie Janalee was all for it, and so were we!  We lit the candle and sang "Happy Birthday" to our birthday girl!  She was so happy to see the lit candle, and she loved watching us help her blow it out.  For some reason, she has a strange obsession with us blowing on her food (to cool it down after cooking it).  So, blowing out the candle just added pyrotechnics to an already exciting thing I suppose.  Haha!

And now...the fun begins!  First of all, I must have been on some kind of 'zoned out so I don't realize my baby is turning one' all natural Valium, because I suggested we park the high chair in the middle of the carpeted living room.

"Oh fun!  What do I do with this?"

"Whoa!  How did THAT happen?!"

"It's squishy."

"Mmmm...it tastes good too!"

And this is why I suspect the all-natural Valium.  An entire half of a cupcake and icing on the floor.  AND I DIDN"T EVEN STOP TO PICK IT UP.  In fact, I don't even know who ended up picking it up, but I heard that she ended up eating the entire thing!  At one point, Mama and I left my dad and Russ to watch her as she continued to eat the cupcake.  We were gathering party things from the back bedroom.  It must've been at that point that they retrieved the lost cupcake and placed it back on her tray for consumption.  The girl may be up all night with a tummy ache tonight!

Who cares about a little icing on the floor?  It's her birthday!  And we're gonna party like it's her birthday!  We're gon' eat cupcakes like it's her birthday.  And we don't care if they fall on the floor 'cause it's her birthday!

"It's my birthday!"

"Yum!"

"I'm ONE!"

After smashing and eating the entire cupcake, it was time for a 9:30 bath.  Russ started the bath while Mama, Kristin, and I cleaned up the remnants.  Ha!  I'm not exactly sure what my dad was doing.  Hmmm...

My clean one year old

Bathtime, more playtime, and an 11:00 bottle left this birthday girl with heavy eyes and a sleepy head.  As I rocked this angel and laid her in her crib tonight, I thanked the Lord for this past year.  I thanked Him for her birthparents and for the experience we have had.  Even from the time we began "praying for more."

This "shawty" is our more.  Immeasurably more!